KATHMANDU, MARCH 10
Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has directed the Investment Board Nepal (IBN) to take big projects forward by creating its own capital.
Participating in the seventh meeting of the Monitoring and Facilitation Committee of the IBN, Minister Sharma said that the ministry would provide necessary support if IBN moves ahead for capital formation.
He further said, "IBN should focus on investing in big projects by creating its own capital. We will discuss how we can help if such a fund is set up."
Also the vice-chairperson of the IBN, the finance minister advised the board to build capital fund for the export-oriented projects by holding discussions with the private sector.
He urged the IBN to take the initiative for investment by assessing projects capable of contributing significantly to the gross domestic product (GDP) and capital formation.
The IBN had presented work progress of Arun III Hydropower Project and its subordinate projects, Logistic Project, Kaptad Integrated Tourism Development Programme, Tamor Water Reservoir Hydropower Project, Upper Marsyandi Hydropower Project, Plant Vehicle Manufacturing and Assembling Plant and Huaxin Cement Project in the meeting.
On the occasion, the finance minister expressed dissatisfaction over non-implementation of the IBN's decision of providing onestop service to big foreign investors.
He stressed on the need to treat all foreign investors equally and facilitate them accordingly. The finance minister insisted on doing away with the conventional development approach and moving ahead with new perspectives.
He made it clear that the culture of keeping proposed projects pending for long in the name of a study/survey was not a good practice.
"It is not good to dilly-dally in deciding on project development proposals submitted to the board for approvals."
He said dealing with such projects by a team of related experts and finalising them on time could help speed up the process.
IBN Chief Executive Officer Sushil Bhatta highlighted the need of a policy-level decision to come up with special provisions in regard with the selection of a site for the construction of industry for production-based big projects.
He apprised that though they received a proposal for establishing an automotive industry from a South Korean company, Motrex, the progress has been stalled due to the site selection issue.
He claimed the board has been working to fulfil its main responsibilities of investment facilitation and coordination, in line with its defined terms of reference.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 11, 2022, of The Himalayan Times
